The Sims: Medieval Review Another Great Addition to an Already Winning Formula

The Sims: Medieval Review Another Great Addition to an Already Winning Formula

Rating:

The Sims: Medieval Review: Back in the 80’s there was an ‘experience’ restaurant near where I lived that claimed to take you back in time to a simpler era where women were buxom and men were hearty, where you could eat food with your hands, enjoy the merriment of court jesters and listen to the dulcet tones of a lute player. It was quite expensive and a similar experience could have been had in your own back yard with enough ale to drink.

In this modern age however there is no need for such places as you can be transported to them instead via your computer or in this case your mobile device, in the form of The Sims: Medieval for the iPhone.

If you a fan of the Sims you’ll find a lot of what you are used to in this game and if your not it’s a great introduction to the genre as it’s a streamlined version of the PC and console iterations of the game.

You start by creating your sim, sex, clothes, style and back story are all selectable or if you prefer you can randomize your selection, choose a personality, name them, name their kingdom and off you go. If only it was that easy in real life!

After a short tutorial which takes you through the basics of movement, application interaction and the rewards of focus points, which enable you to access the quests that make up the game, you are launched into your first quest to track down a thief.

The controls have been implemented well for a touch device, they are accurate and moving your sim around is a simple task of touching the screen where you would like him or her to walk while touching people or objects allow you to interact with them.

The first quest will take you through the basics of the game, from interacting with other characters where you can chat and socialize, move to different areas of the ‘world’ without having to walk your Sim there and the art of combat.

Combat is a major part of the The Sims: Medieval and it’s fairly easy skill to learn, in fact it’s pretty difficult to lose a fight especially if you are well fed, rested and have other sims available to help you out as part of your guild.

Completing quests is the key to success here and in doing so you will earn simoles, rewards and unlock other occupations which will aide you later in the game, for example when you become a herbalist you can make you own stamina potion instead of having to buy it in the store.

While a lot of the basic tasks that you may be used to from other Sims games have been removed, such as going to the bathroom and showering, you still do need to make sure that rest, eat, play and socialize. This makes the game less Sim like but that’s not necessarily a bad thing for a hand held device.

Keeping your Sim entertained can be a much more hands on experience than in previous games, for example should you want to take your Sim fishing you will be the one throwing your device around as you attempt to bag a fish.

If you are coming to the iPhone version for the first time from the PC version don’t expect to be able to rebuild and redecorate your accommodation. Updates to your house are restricted to new furniture and it’s placement only.

The Sims: Medieval isn’t breaking new ground in what is already a hugely successful franchise but it is a great looking, thoroughly enjoyable experience which every Sims fan should enjoy. If only there was a version to take advantage of the iPad’s extra size and muscle, now that would be SIMply fantastic!